That, Which, and Who

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That, Which, and Who

• These words begin descriptive phrases.
• Descriptive phrases can appear anywhere in a
  sentence -- at the beginning, at the end, or in
  the middle.

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Two types of phrases

• That, which, and who introduce two types of
  phrases -- restrictive and nonrestrictive.
• Its important to know the difference because
  they get different punctuation and different
  intro words.

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Restrictive Phrases

• A restrictive phrase restricts the meaning of the
  sentence it is a part of. These never have
  commas.
• The dog that had three legs won the race.
• Had three legs restricts the meaning of dog to
  one very specific dog.

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Nonrestrictive Phrases

• Nonrestrictive phrases provide information that
  is nice to have, but dont fundamentally change
  the meaning of the sentence. They are surrounded
  by commas.
• The dog, which loved its owner, won the race.
• Which loved its owner provides more information
  about the dog, but isnt required to understand
  the main point of the sentence.

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How do I tell the difference?

• Restrictive phrases provide information that is
  vital to the sentence.
• Nonrestrictive phrases provide info that is nice
  to have, but not necessary.
• To tell the difference, use your thumb !

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The Thumb Rule

• Stick your thumb over the phrase you wonder
  about.
• If the sentence is fundamentally different, the
  phrase is restrictive. Begin the phrase with
  that, and DO NOT use commas.
• If the sentence is pretty much the same, but
  missing some descriptive info, its
  non-restrictive. Begin the phrase with which and
  DO use commas to surround it.

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Choosing That vs. Which

• As you may have noticed from the examples
• That begins restrictive phrases.
• Which begins nonrestrictive phrases.

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What about who?

• Who is used with people. People always receive
  who.
• Students who . .
• Accountants who . . .

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Who can be either . . .

• Who can introduce restrictive OR nonrestrictive
  elements.
• In the case of who, the question is just whether
  to use commas or not.

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Some Practice(that, which, or who?)

• The sound system ____ had silver speakers
  blasted music through the fraternity party.
• The sound system ____ had 500 Watt speakers
  blasted music through the fraternity party.

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You may notice . . .

• That its difficult to decide between that and
  which with just one sentence.
• You really need the context of the paragraph
  (or even the whole document) to tell if
  something is restrictive or not.

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Example (that or which?)

• In Marchs Dog Trot Race, the dog ____ had the
  white coat won the race.
• Had the white coat could be restrictive or not --
  it depends on the other dogs in the race (WHY?)

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Example (that or which?)

• Every Dog Trot Race has been won by a dog with a
  black or brown coat. In Marchs Dog Trot Race,
  the dog ____ had the white coat won the race.
• Is had the white coat restrictive or not?

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Another example

• Restrictive
• Students who neglect to complete their
  assignments will receive failing grades.
• Nonrestrictive
• The two neglectful students, who did not complete
  their assignments, will receive failing grades.

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Restrictive and Nonrestrictive choices

• These are stylistic techniques.
• You will find famous authors who use that with
  commas or which with no commas.
• Technically these are grammar mistakes.
• When you are a famous author, you can break
  technical grammar rules whenever you like.

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